2-723-826 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Bird-Shaped Container, 500-900. Peruvian Indians today regard coca leaf as a sacred substance that creates communion with deities. The leaves are chewed with powdered lime that in antiquity was stored in containers and scooped with spatulas like those seen here. Aside from its ritual meaning, coca has practical benefits: it is vitamin-rich and, like coffee, induces clear-headedness. The lizard spatula is Nasca; the other two are Wari.